The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
Wolof is a language of Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Unlike most other languages of the Niger-Congo family, Wolof is not a tonal language.
The Senegambia is, in the narrow sense, a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, which lies between the Senegal River in the north and the Gambia River in the south. However, there are also text sources which state that Senegambia is understood in a broader sense and equated with the term the Western region. This refers to the coastal areas between Senegal and Sierra Leone, where the inland border in the east was not further defined.
Birago Diop was a Senegalese poet and storyteller whose work restored general interest in African folktales and promoted him to one of the most outstanding African francophone writers. A renowned veterinarian, diplomat and leading voice of the Négritude literary movement, Diop exemplified the "African renaissance man".
Cheikh Anta Diop University, also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60,000.
Aminata Sow Fall is a Senegalese-born author. While her native language is Wolof, her books are written in French. She is considered "the first published woman novelist from francophone Black Africa".
Lat Jor Ngoné Latir Jop was a nineteenth-century damel (king) of Cayor, a Wolof state that is today in Sénégal. He is today a national hero of Senegal for his resistance to French colonialism.
Thiaroye is the name of a historic town in Sénégal, situated in the suburbs of Dakar, on the southeast coast of the Cap-Vert peninsula, between Pikine and Rufisque.
The Thiaroye massacre was a massacre of French West African veterans of the 1940 Battle of France, by French forces on the morning of 1 December 1944. These Tirailleurs Sénégalais units had been recently liberated from prisoner camps and after being repatriated to West Africa, they mutinied against poor conditions and defaulted pay at the Thiaroye military camp, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. Between 35 and over 400 people were killed.
Trade unionism is a powerful force in the politics, economy, and culture of Senegal, and was one of the earliest trades union movements to form in Francophone West Africa.
The cinema of Senegal is a relatively small film industry which experienced its prime from the 1960s through to the early 1980s, but has since declined to less than five feature films produced in the last ten years. Senegal is the capital of African cinema and the most important place of African film production after its independence from France in 1960.
Senegalese literature is written or literary work which has been produced by writers born in the West African state. Senegalese literary works are mostly written in French, the language of the colonial administration. However, there are many instances of works being written in Arabic and the native languages of Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Diola, Soninke and Serer. Oral traditions, in the form of Griot storytellers, constitute a historical element of the Senegalese canon and have persisted as cultural custodians throughout the nation’s history. A form of proto-Senegalese literature arose during the mid 19th century with the works of David Abbé Boilat, who produced written ethnographic literature which supported French Colonial rule. This genre of Senegalese literature continued to expand during the 1920s with the works of Bakary Diallo and Ahmadou Mapaté Diagne. Earlier literary examples exist in the form of Qur’anic texts which led to the growth of a form African linguistic expressionism using the Arabic alphabet, known as Ajami. Poets of this genre include Ahmad Ayan Sih and Dhu al-nun.
Tales of Amadou Koumba or Les Contes d'Amadou Koumba is a collection of tales from Senegal, transcribed by Birago Diop from the accounts of his family's griot, Amadou Koumba. It was published for the first time in 1947.
Women in Senegal have a traditional social status as shaped by local custom and religion. According to 2005 survey, the female genital mutilation prevalence rate stands at 28% of all women in Senegal aged between 15 and 49.
Ndaté Yalla Mbodj, also known as Ndateh Yalla Mbooj, was the last great Lingeer (Queen) of Waalo, one of the four Jolof kingdoms in present day Senegal located in what is now North-West Senegal. During her reign, she fought against French colonization and Moorish invasion of her kingdom. In the 19th century,the Wolof queens Ndaté Yalla and her sister Ndjeumbeut Mbodj stood out as two of the most powerful women of 19th century Senegalese dynastic history.
Amadou Bâ, also known as Doudou Ba, was a Senegalese politician, adjunct to the mayor of Dakar and minister.
Vera Wülfing-Leckie was a German-born British homeopath and a translator of African literature. She lived in Africa for much of her adult life, and translated, among others, works by Boubacar Boris Diop from Senegal and Véronique Tadjo from Côte d'Ivoire. Diop's novel Doomi Golo: The Hidden Notebooks was on the shortlist for the 2017 Best Translated Book Award.
Boubacar Barry is a Senegalese Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. He was the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Africanist Award of the African Studies Association, and he was selected as the 2016 honorary member of the American Historical Association.
Thierno Faty Sow was a Senegalese filmmaker, screenwriter and actor.
(age 76)